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4.30.2009

The power of suggestion can be very strong at times. I was goingalong through the day, minding my own business, sort of, when I satdown to read a good friend's blog. She was making pita bread. I think theylove bread in that house...they must, they must. Well of course you can guess what happened next. All it took was a little post inspiration and the course of the day was set. Pita bread anyone? Make sure you visit her blog for a link to the recipe.

Pita making is pretty simple which surprised me, though I'm not totallysure why. Must be one of those "bread" things where you think it isharder than it actually is. There are only a handful of ingredients and once the dough is prepared you just have to sit back relax. Unless of course you get the idea craving for fresh hummus to go along with the pitas. It helps after consulting the said hummus recipe to have tahini paste in your fridge (don't we all??) and sesame oil. Staple ingredients right? Oh and while I was kicking around my fridge crisper looking for that darn lemon, I stumbled upon a long english on the verge of extinction so you probably know what happened next. Yup, washed, peeled, and then with a bit of olive oil, red wine vinegar and a touch of s & p (salt and pepper) we were ready to sit back.

So where were we? Oh yeah, got distracted by the accompanying crowd. Once the pitas have done their thing (rise) and you have done your thing (roll into balls, rest dough again, then flatten) you are almost there. Pop them in the oven, cooking time took 5 minutes with a few extra to cool until we were enjoying warmpitas with fresh hummus & cucumbers. Yum. The kids loved them. I loved them. Can't say I'll be doing store bought again. It's a shoe-in for a repeat.

4.27.2009

The small pleasures of life after a weekend of working have to include a bit of one on one time with kjr fabric. That's Katie-Jump-Rope fabric for those of you who don't already know. You may remember I mentioned it once before.

I planned, I cut, I pinned, I sewed. Into the wee hours until things got fuzzy.

The next day I un-did what I worked on to revamp a part of the project that didn't seem quite right, if you know what I mean?

When I wasn't completely satisfied with that idea, I ripped it all out again so I could make it the way I saw it my head...I think the third time's a charm.

4.22.2009

I had this great idea to make waffles in the morning so I pulled out the ingredients only to find I had no eggs. Oops, change of plans, will that be toast and cereal again kids?

It must have totally slipped my mind that I had no eggs in the afternoon because I announced that I was making cookies, trying to drum up help support for the event. Until I remembered that I was back to the no egg situation and stuck at home without the car to boot. No problem, we would just walk to the nearest grocery store for a dozen oval shapes, er...one problem, it was raining and I still have no idea where the rain coats are or if they even fit.

I didn't want to go down without a fight so I racked my brain trying to figure out a sweet treat that I could make that I actually had ingredients for. It dawned on me, the blessed shortbread. God bless the Brits and their endless need for tea and shortbread and thank you dad, for giving me your sweet tooth.

I found my recipe and went right at it. Not much in that recipe I tell you, but taste buds get ready for a real buttery, sugary fix, especially with that extra sprinkle of sugar on the top. This mumma does not disappoint I tell ya (you can roll your eyes here).

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl with medium speed beat the first 6 ingredients until well mixed, occasionally scraping the bowl. Pat dough into two 9-inch round cake pan and with fork, prick well. With spoon, sprinkle sugar over dough. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into wedges while warm. cool on wire rack; separate cookies. Enjoy.

disclaimer: I can not be held accountable for the numerous inches that will accumulate on the waist line if one decides to be a regular consumer of this product.

4.19.2009

We got the call last week from our reno guy that he had a few days to come and work on a project if we were ready for him. It was one of those, agree to take him on now or wait until June, things. The project entailed lots of new drywalling (damaged walls) and a flooring install, enough to keep him busy for a few days or us for a month. Umm, I don't think so, not-waiting-one-more-day, no thank you... The room will be a bedroom when it is finally completed and believe me, we don't have enough of those right now. "That future bedroom" needed to be put out of it's misery and fast. We started by emptying it of all it's items and believe me there was a lot! It became a sort of dumping zone to say it mildly since we moved here last summer. But before we could do this we had to put the finishing touches on the everything room so we could move the office furniture, music equipment and toys into place. We had to unpack about 20 boxes filled with books, glorious books, that we haven't seen in over a year. That was the best part and I had tons of help from eager hands who were itching for a good read. Next on the list was taking down some really awful wallpaper in "that future bedroom", the kind of wallpaper that makes the case against ever putting up wallpaper - 1980's show-home gray and peach. Add what was once white carpet into the picture and the ick factor just keeps doubling. I don't "ick" easily but old carpet really does me in.

Now that our part is done I'd like to squeeze some time in for more linen and patchwork goodness and maybe even some photos of the finished everything room when the sun decides to shine. We're ready for you mr. aldo, come fix. Happy Monday, xoxo.

4.13.2009

Some one pinch me and tell me it isn't mid-April already? Maybe it was the big snow storm a couple of weeks ago or having easter in April, isn't it usually in March? I feel like it should only be March on the calendar. Despite my calendar doubting there is no doubt that spring is making her presence known. Each day brings more of our fine feathered friends to the lake, it is a naturalist paradise out there. As well as the geese, the ducks, seagulls, robins and other wee migratory birds have all returned. They are flitting about eating off the goodness of the land. It is so good to see them all again, it's like the return of good friends.

With the snow quickly becoming a thing of the past, and I'm really hoping it will stay that way for at least another 6 months, the change in weather means new activities for our crew. Ones that involve a whole lot of outdoor living. Long drives, biking, trailing, picnicking, beaching, and maybe even some camping - I'll have to work on the hubby a bit more with this one. Needless to say we will be packing a whole lot of outdoor living in the next 3 seasons.

Today will be a good start and I think a walk in the fresh air will do us all good to kick off the cabin fever that grabbed us so forcefully with the last snow. We managed a bit of this over the weekend with the cousins in a good game of street hockey. It was a lot of fun but really they all have me whipped, this mumma can't run like she used to.

When we weren't outside playing we were indoors hunting, for eggs that is. Our egg hunt on Sunday was preempted by seasonal rain so we quickly changed gears and hid the goodies indoors. After the egg hunt the kids sat down to spring tea with their very own tea set, a little gift for enduring a long winter. It was fun watching little hands and not so little hands, after all the big boys are turning into tween and teen agers right before my eyes, do it themselves. Their tea lasted for well over an hour with lots of chatter and giggling. They sat together drinking, eating cookies and for a moment I could see them older, partaking the same way in love and conversation. Big brother taking the time and care to listen to the thoughtful words of his little sister, which don't always come easy when you are only 4 years old. I love how something so simple can be enjoyed by all. It's like magic

4.09.2009

It's been a busy week here at the ducky house. I feel like I've barely had a chance to catch my breath. The hubby came down with a terrible case of the stomach flu so he was banished to the bedroom in effort to "keep it to himself". I don't think I've seen him that sick in a long, long time. Poor guy. It brought back memories of my pregnant days when I could barely get out of the bed for 4 - 5 months. Today he was feeling well enough to go back to work so I'm hoping that means things will get back to normal here.

To top off the week was my yearly physical. I'm not really a big fan of the maintenance check up but I do realize that events out of my control make it a necessity. Given all of that, I didn't feel too much anxiety this year. The preliminary results are, all is well. I go for further maintenance checks in the blood work up, mammo department and even an ultrasound to check out the ovaries and insides. Do I really want to know what is going on inside of me. A voice in my head keeps saying, with my fingers in my ears "la, la, la, la, la", I can be very juvenile when I set my mind to it you know.

After that tedious day was done, I arrived home to a fantastic parcel from Amazon. I just love the post man. I ordered a few things to distract inspire me from the chaos of renovation and I am itching for some quiet time to read and look at photos. You know what I'll be taking to work with me this weekend don't you?

As for the contents: Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. Her fabric designs are wonderful and I'm expecting her book will only equal them. Then there is Domino, The Book of Decorating, I wonder what they would say about my retro room?? When they announced that they would be ending their magazine well it only made sense to own their book. Posterity right? This is a completely frivolous purchase with what is sure to be loads of eye candy and I can't wait. The last two books have equally been on my mind and definite must haves. Printing by Hand - Lena Corwin, I am intrigued by the world of printing on fabric and while we have done some in the past I'd really like to do some more custom printing, especially on linen. Besides a have a huge roll of freezer paper that begs to be used. The final book is Wool Pets by Laurie Sharp. A good friend of mine that I met through our homeschooling co-op introduced me to her book and I was immediately smitten. The book is all about needle felting and very visual, gotta love a book with lots of photos. This is new territory for me, I need to collect a few tools of the trade, wool roving and felting needles but other than that I think it will just be a matter of time before Karen and I are felting wee lambs and mermaids. Happy Days indeed :)

4.05.2009

I spent the weekend wallpapering which is something I thought I'd never do again after my faux technique painting craze in the 90's. If someone were to tell me back then that I'd be wallpapering, and what I'd be wall papering on my walls I'd think they were nuts. Good thing we can't see into our future or we might spend more time running away from it. But hey, it's just wallpaper right? I'm mean it's not life or death or anything.

The wallpapering took place in the everything room which is turning out to be a throw back to the 70's. It might be a bit decoratively risky but I couldn't help myself. The paper was calling to me. Back in the fall when I was walking the isles of Home Depot my eyes were drawn to the bold floral rolls. They floated into my cart and when my hubby saw them he got a bit worried. From his perspective, people that buy homes with that kind of paper usually rip it out as soon as they can in favor of something more neutral. But I say neutral be damned. In this house we've had more opportunity to "create" what we want sincewe are basically redo-ing the entire insides. It's not that the ideasof old were grabbing me anymore, I just think this house wants somefunk and I aim to please. Time to get our groove on. His eyes just rolled at me.

I assured him things would be okay. Everything would work out in the end. My mind saw it. Now we would just have to create it. That's the way it works for me, I see things in my head and then I look for the product (in this case the wallpaper)that will help me get what is in my head out there for reality. I may have even discovered my husband this way!

In this case the 70's are floating around in my head. Maybe it because I grew up in the 70's, those childhood years can give you some great decorating mileage after you get over them. What ever it is, our everything room is coming together and soon it will be functional. We still need to finish putting varathane on the bookshelves that will eventually sit on the green ledge in front of the wallpaper. My hubby made them, what he wouldn't do for me, and I painted 5 coats of yummy Ralph Lauren, brushed sable on them. Baseboards, doors and window trims are already cut and waiting to be attached and then new outlets, switches, etc. The final and most arduous task will be organizing the furniture, music equipment, books and play areas. I'm looking forward to this stage because it symbolizes completeness.

4.01.2009

Completely. I mean really, who can stay preoccupied about the weather when the door bell rings and the nice post man has a parcel in his hands for yours truly. It got even better when he only asked me to sign and didn't ask for any contribution to his retirement fund, conveniently disguised as "custom and duty fees".

It took a turn even more exciting when on the label it read, "Sew, Mama, Sew". Thank you Kristin. Of course the piece de resistance was opening the package to find such lovelies inside. I've been meaning wanting to order Katie Jump Rope for some time now. I'm a huge fan.

The reproductive prints are so charming and stash building worthy. It's a dangerous thing to stash build when half of your crafty items are still in boxes. But I've waited long enough. I held off on buying the Denyse Schmidt fabric because I knew I was going to be so very busy with the move/renovation, or so I told myself. Then as things happen, I was up late eyeball shopping in Sew Mama Sew's sale section and well the rest is history and I blame it all on Kristin...yes I do.